An ink jet recording apparatus is a recording apparatus of a so-called non-impact recording type, and has characteristics that almost no noise is generated during recording and that recording at a high speed and recording on various types of recording media are enabled.
For an ink jet recording head to be mounted in such an ink jet recording apparatus, the following ink discharge method is employed. For example, well known types include a method that employs an electromechanical transducing element, such as a piezoelectric element, and a method whereby ink droplets are discharged through the action of a boiling phenomenon that is obtained by rapidly heating ink using an electrothermal transducing element having a heat-generating resistor.
An ink jet recording head using an electrothermal transducing element generally includes: a discharge port, which is an opening for discharging ink droplets; an ink flow path, which communicates with the discharge port and along which ink is supplied to an area to which heat produced by the electrothermal transducing element is supplied for the ink; and a common liquid chamber.
Further, there are an ink jet recording head type that is detachable independent of an ink tank, and a cartridge type for which an ink jet recording head is integrally formed with an ink container.
FIGS. 11A and 11B are perspective views of an ink jet recording head cartridge in the prior art, respectively taken from the side where a discharge port is arranged and taken from the opposite side. This ink jet recording head cartridge is obtained by integrally forming an ink jet recording head and an ink container.
In FIGS. 11A and 11B, an ink jet recording head cartridge 601 is provided by integrally forming a recording head unit, which includes a recording element board 702, and an ink storage unit in which ink is stored. The recording element board 702 includes: a heater, which serves as an energy generating element for transducing electric energy into thermal energy; and circuit wiring for supplying, to the heater, the thermal energy received from the main body of a recording apparatus. Furthermore, a flow path forming member is also provided, which includes an ink flow path along which heat generated by the heater is to be provided for ink and an ink discharge port 703 that communicates with the ink flow path for discharging ink.
A flexible electric wiring board 706 includes wiring for transmitting an electric signal from the main body of the recording apparatus to the recording element board 702. Furthermore, at the end thereof, an external signal input terminal 707 is provided for receiving an electric signal from the main body of the recording apparatus. The flexible electric wiring board 706 is electrically connected to the two ends of the recording element board 702. And the electrically connected portions are covered with sealing members 708, and as a result, the electrically connected portions are protected from ink that attaches to the surface of the recording head unit.
Ink supplied to the recording element board 702 is stored in the ink storage unit that is constructed by mounting a lid 710 on a case 709 of the ink jet recording head cartridge 601. An ink supply path is formed in the bottom of the case 709, and ink from the ink storage unit is supplied along this ink supply path to the recording element board 702.
FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view taken along line 12-12 in FIG. 11A, and shows the surrounding structure of the recording element board 702 of the recording head unit. In FIG. 12, the recording element board 702 is shown while the flow path forming member, which includes the ink discharge port 703 and the ink flow path, the heater mounted on the recording element board 702, etc., are omitted.
A support member 802, which is a part of the case 709 for supporting the recording element board 702, includes an ink supply port 803 for supplying, to the recording element board 702, ink that is retained in the ink storage unit.
Bonding of the support member 702 to the recording element board 702 is performed by applying a thermosetting adhesive 804 to the support member 802, and then, accurately aligning the recording element board 702 with the support member 802. However, since the alignment accuracy must be maintained until the adhesive is completely cured, a UV curing adhesive 806 for temporary fixing is partially applied, and UV ray irradiation is performed for temporary fixing. Thereafter, thermal curing is performed, so that the bonding can be secured while the accuracy is maintained.
Furthermore, the flexible electric wiring board 706 is securely fixed to the support member 802 using an adhesive.
A sealing member 805, such as a resin, is employed to seal the peripheral side faces of the recording element board 702 and the support member 802. One of the reasons is that the peripheral side walls of the recording element board 702 must be protected from ink. It should be noted that a thermosetting resin that is comparatively easy to handle in a manufacturing process is generally employed as a sealing member.
The above described secure bonding method employing the adhesive 804 is a generally known means for bonding the recording element board 702 to the support member 802. For example, a temporary fixing method performed until an adhesive is completely cured is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-220956 and No. H09-183229.
As is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-220956, an adhesive for permanently fixing and a temporal tacking adhesive for temporary fixing are employed together in order to attach, to a fixing plate, the piezoelectric element unit of an ink jet recording head. Here, a UV type adhesive is employed as a temporal tacking adhesive, and a cold setting adhesive is employed as an adhesive for permanent fixing. Furthermore, as is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-183229, an adhesive for permanent fixing and a temporal tacking adhesive for temporary fixing are employed together in order to attach the heater board (a recording element board) of an ink jet recording head to a base board (a support member). According to this description, a photo-curing adhesive is employed as a temporal tacking adhesive, and a natural setting or thermosetting adhesive is employed as an adhesive for permanent fixing.
However, during the bonding process the recording element board 702 and the support member 802 are fixed together using adhesives, and the adhesives may enter the ink supply port 803. As a result, the discharge function may be deteriorated or the reliability reduced, and further, there have been cases wherein the ink supply port 803 has become clogged and the discharge of ink disabled.
In addition, in a case wherein temporary fixing is to be performed by partially applying an adhesive for the temporary fixing and photocuring the adhesive within a short period of time, the position for the application of the temporary fixing adhesive should be limited to a small gap between the peripheral side face of the recording element board 702 and the support member 802. Therefore, it is difficult to perform an application appropriately, and a reduction of a yield factor may be caused by a failure during the temporary fixing procedure. Furthermore, if adhesive is scattered during application and is attached to the surface of the recording element board 702, the discharge function will be deteriorated, and accordingly, a yield factor and reliability will be reduced.